The findings on Canada's reserves of low-carbon energy are consistent with recent inventories of U.S. renewable energy assets. And the results are the same in Germany where, at a Canadian latitude, they're already generating huge amounts of renewable power.

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What's remarkable is that we still go to great lengths to find deposits of filthy oil, when the wind blowing overhead somehow goes unnoticed day after day. While oil and coal are scattered in just a few places, the sun and wind are ubiquitous.

The good news about the Trottier Project report is its potential to put new pressure on Canada to continue an inevitable transition, from a petro-state toward something very different. All the evidence—on the rising tide of climate change, on the falling costs of low-carbon technologies, on the shining potential of a green economy—shows that the tar sands are the last gasp of an earlier era. But now, it's decision time, because if we burn them, we help foreclose the possibility and promise of the next era.

By pointing to a new direction for Canada, An Inventory of Low-Carbon Energy adds to the overwhelming weight of evidence that the profit motive of the fossil fuel industry stands in the way of the low-carbon transition.If we could work around that, we'd be well on our way.

The report shows that the technologies and supporting deployment strategies are already within our grasp. Our task now is to continue building the momentum.

Bill McKibben is founder of 350.org, one of the world's leading low-carbon advocacy organizations.

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1 Comment

Jun 05, 201310:06 AM

Ron Tolmie says...

The Trottier reports outline an expensive approach to achieving a more sustainable environment. A much simpler, cheaper and cleaner approach is to employ storage of both heat and electricity (in the form of exergy) to provide space heating, cooling and hot water. That would reduce the demand for electricity to a value that can be supplied by the existing non-GHG- producing power generating facilities and the storage would handle peak demands without the need for peaking stations. At the same time it eliminates the GHG from fuels used for heating buildings. Details are available at http://sustainability-journal.ca

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